The Malik Report

Little in Petr Mrazek’s career suggested he would be down and out for long.

His second consecutive shutout, 3-0, over the Devils on Monday at the Prudential Center is more evidence that is the case. Mrazek stopped all 37 shots he faced....

The 21-year-old, diminutive Hicketts debuted and put big smiles on all of his new teammates' faces with a strong performance that may make it difficult for the Wings to put him back on I-96 towards Grand Rapids anytime soon.

“Lots of times for your kill to be good, your goalie’s got to be great,” said Jeff Blashill. “And he was.

“Certainly, on the penalty kill was where I thought we gave up the most chances. He was excellent on that.”

Asked if it might mean more playing time for Mrazek, after a clear decision to ride the hot goalie, Jimmy Howard, most of the first 45 games of the season, Blashill quickly answered, “Oh, without question.

[The] problem is, both teams are just mediocre enough - and not quite bad enough - they don’t get good odds in either draft lottery.

And say there is a miracle rally at the end of the season by the Red Wings. How you’d like their chances in the first-round against, say, that powerhouse Steve Yzerman has built in Tampa Bay?

Or if the Pistons are facing the Celtics or the Raptors or the Cavaliers in the first round?

A nightmare? That might be a stretch. Little Caesars Arena will eventually be full. It might be somewhat like when Comerica Park was erected, and it took the Tigers a period to get it right. Then, the fans arrived in record numbers. Or the Lions at Ford Field. Wait, they are still trying to get it right, and the masses flock there anyway, which those, with a cynical slant, might say is the problem.

But at this point, the empty seats at Little Caesars are impossible to ignore.

#RedWings have waived David Booth for the third time this season. He has until noon tomorrow to clear (probably will). Gives them flexibility to send him to @griffinshockey if they elect to do so when injured players return.

The Detroit Red Wings continue their 4-games-in-6-nights stretch against the New Jersey Devils this evening (7:00 PM on FSD/Sportsnet/MSG/97.1 FM). It's expected that Joe Hicketts will make his NHL debut for the Red Wings tonight, and both teams are a bit "banged up" heading into tonight's game.

It was apparent before they went on their bye week that the Detroit Red Wings were out of serious playoff contention. Losses at home last week to Dallas and Carolina further sealed their fate.

The Red Wings are 10 points behind the New York Rangers for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. And having three games in hand means little when there are five other teams in between....

Defenseman Mike Green is Detroit’s biggest trade chip due to his offensive skills, right-handed shot and ability to quarterback the power play. The New York Rangers could be interested, since Kevin Shattenkirk, their right-shooting offensive D-man, is out indefinitely, needing surgery to repair torn meniscus in his knee.

A borderline playoff team like the Rangers is unlikely to relinquish its first-round pick, which could end up being a high selection with some lottery luck. Perhaps Green could fetch a pair of second-round picks or a second and a third. Tampa Bay also had been linked to Green.

The Red Wings will look to trade a goalie, though it’s no sure thing they can move either. They had talks with Edmonton earlier in the season regarding Petr Mrazek. They might look to move Jimmy Howard instead, but with another season remaining on his contract ($5.3 million) and few teams in the goalie market (maybe the Islanders), that would be tough.

They likely are willing to move several players, including Darren Helm, but their contracts will make it difficult.

In the ECHL, the Toledo Walleye had a rough weekend in Kansas City, dropping consecutive games to the Kansas City Mavericks. On Saturday, the Walleye dropped a 3-1 decision to the Mavericks; on Sunday, the Walleye lost 4-2, with Tyler Barnes and Charlie O'Connor scoring the Walleye's goals and Matej Machovsky stopping 22 of 25 shots.

The Detroit Red Wings will kick off a 3-games-in-4-nights stretch against the New Jersey Devils this evening (7:00 PM on FSD/Sportsnet/MSG/97.1 FM), and the 18-20-and-7 Red Wings may be catching the 24-13-and-8 Devils at the right time.

About The Malik Report

The Malik Report is a destination for all things Red Wings-related. I offer biased, perhaps unprofessional-at-times and verbose coverage of my favorite team, their prospects and developmental affiliates. I've joined the Kukla's Korner family with five years of blogging under my belt, and I hope you'll find almost everything you need to follow your Red Wings at a place where all opinions are created equal and we're all friends, talking about hockey and the team we love to follow.